Bruce Lee: A Life

Books

"A biography of the movie icon Bruce Lee"-- "Bruce Lee made martial arts a global phenomenon. He bridged the divide between Eastern and Western cultures. He smashed long-held stereotypes of Asians and Asian Americans. And yet, almost a half-century after his sudden death at age thirty-two, there has not been a definitive account of the film legend's life. Until now. Following years of research that included more than one hundred interviews--with Lee's family, friends, business associates, and even the actress in whose bed he died--Matthew Polly has constructed a complex, humane portrait of the icon. Polly explores Lee's boyhood as a child star in Hong Kong cinema; his troublemaking teenage years that got him sent away to America; his beginnings as a martial arts teacher, eventually becoming instructor to movie stars like Steve McQueen; his struggles as an Asian American actor in Hollywood and frustration seeing roles go to white actors in eye makeup; his eventual triumph as a leading man; his challenges ...